Today marks BSL Recognition Day – part of BDA’s Sign Language Week.
While some steps have been made, such as the current scrutiny of the BSL (Scotland) Bill and Northern Ireland’s welcoming of the BSL/ISL roadmap to legal recognition report – there is still a long way to go.
BDA’s Director of Campaigns and Communications, David Buxton says: “12 years on and we still do not have a BSL Act. Ministers have evaded questions over the legal status of BSL”
“The BDA continues to fight to get an enacted legal status for BSL. In March 2014, the BDA published a detailed report spanning over 100 pages, calling on the Government to introduce a BSL Act. Despite our intense lobbying, we are still waiting.”
The BDA calls for all BSL supporters to stand up and sign up for free membership to the BDA to give weight to our collective “voice” so that Parliament hears us all.
Every child, young person, adult and senior citizen deserves the same rights and protection as everyone else. Just like Welsh and Gaelic speakers enjoy their own legal language – now its time for BSL users to enjoy the same right to ensure their culture and identity is forever protected.
